Evacuations start in Stockade area

Observers, residents try to predict how high waters will get

Stockade resident Susan Peek watches flood waters rise on the front stoop of her Ingersoll Avenue home Wednesday Feb. 21, 2018 in Schenectady, NY. After 8 years in the Stockade, Peek is moving to Florida next week. (John Carl D'Annibale/Times Union) less

Stockade resident Susan Peek watches flood waters rise on the front stoop of her Ingersoll Avenue home Wednesday Feb. 21, 2018 in Schenectady, NY. After 8 years in the Stockade, Peek is moving to Florida next ... more

Stockade resident Susan Peek watches flood waters rise on the front stoop of her Ingersoll Avenue home Wednesday Feb. 21, 2018 in Schenectady, NY. After 8 years in the Stockade, Peek is moving to Florida next week. (John Carl D'Annibale/Times Union) less

Stockade resident Susan Peek watches flood waters rise on the front stoop of her Ingersoll Avenue home Wednesday Feb. 21, 2018 in Schenectady, NY. After 8 years in the Stockade, Peek is moving to Florida next ... more

SCHENECTADY - A number of homes on the low-lying Ingersoll Avenue had to be evacuated Wednesday night as water from the swelling Mohawk River started entering their basements.

Mayor Gary McCarthy said that four of about a half-dozen residences that fire officials recommended be evacuated were occupied. Emergency officials said they are prepared for more action, if circumstances call for it.

Concerns about the flooding were steady as the day went on after unseasonably warm weather over two days melted snow and ice in and around the Mohawk River —already plagued with an uncommonly long stretch of ice. Wednesday's high of 73 was a record. Fire crews, other professionals, drones and fearful residents kept careful watch.

Earlier in the day, Susan Peek sat on the top step of her porch a few inches from floodwaters advancing up Ingersoll Avenue.

Peek, who pointed to water ponding in a corner of her driveway, said she and her cats and dogs and a parakeet would stay put as long as the power remained on.

"We have a pretty high foundation so it takes a little longer for the water to get into our basement, not like some of these houses where the water is getting up to the window sill," added Peek, who wants to leave for Florida Tuesday and has most belongings in storage.

Renee Farley, who owns a real estate and construction company, is still fixing up the home at the end of the block nearest to the river that she and her children bought in October. On Wednesday, Farley recalled fearing the worst when she pulled up with a trailer of construction materials hitched to her sports utility vehicle and noticed North Street was blocked to traffic.

When she got closer, Farley was stunned when she saw the inundated the park, street and her basement.

Despite her concern and water pouring into her basement "like a waterfall," she joked that "I could actually sell it right now and call it true waterfront."

Chunks of ice were blocking the flow of water at Freemans Bridge and backing up the river at points to the west, causing jitters in places like Scotia.

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Dan Connor of the state Office of Emergency Management shoots a cell phone video on Feb. 21, 2018, of the ice jam and flooding at Lock 9 on the Mohawk River in Rotterdam Junction for Lee Bormann, the commander of the Albany County Sheriff’s Office critical incident emergency management unit. (Albany County Sheriff’s Office)

Media: Times Union

Crews were hoping for the best and had some optimism.

"As this ice breaks up, it'll push so far, it'll stop. Now is the ice going to push down and form a dam and cause it to back up quickly?" Assistant Schenectady Fire Chief Michael Gillespie said. "Right now we like the way the water is flowing under the ice, it's eroding ice, it's melting ice, the water is above 32 degrees, so it's working in our favor."

Gillespie said National Grid crews Wednesday were assessing the flooding to see if they needed to cut power.

He said they were looking at possibly shutting off power at a few houses on Ingersoll Avenue.By late Wednesday afternoon, Gillespie said all houses, their utilities, occupants, pets and medical conditions had been cataloged for evacuation purposes.

Union College geology Professor John Garver said rain Monday and the thaw Tuesday caused the back end of the jam to move, which slowed down the flow of the water upstream from Mabee Farm in Rotterdam Junction and the Glenville Flats.

"The big concern at this point is when and if this releases," he said, adding "it's backing up water now so water and ice will move downstream and presumably impact the end of the part of the jam, which is at Lock 8." He said water could rise into Thursday morning.

At 8 p.m. the level at Freeman's Bridge in the Schenectady area was in the moderate flood stage, rather than major. It appeared to be on the downswing.

"We're continuing to add water to the system so the water's has got to go somewhere, and most of the water is going underneath, but the ice can actually fold in on itself and cause a damming effect anywhere along the length of this and that can cause very rapid rises in water," Garver said.

"Right now, by and large this is a Schenectady County problem, but if this breaks or when this goes, if it goes quickly, it's an Albany County problem because that surge of water will go down and that can cause spectacular rises in water. One of the things that we've been hoping for the last three, four weeks is the slow burn — that's warm days and cold nights, and not a lot of liquid precipitation."

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Drone footage taken on Feb. 14, 2018 in Schenectady County shows four portions of the Mohawk River, which is covered by a 17-mile ice jam. (Provided by the Albany County Sheriff's Office)

Media: Times Union

Drone pilots with the Albany County Sheriff's Office were stationed at Mabee Farm Junction and Lock 9. They fly between 100 and 150 feet off the ground, said Leo Bormann, who runs the drone program.

Garver credited the drone technology with helping them better map the movement of the ice jams.Scotia officials were also watching for signs of flooding on that side of the river. The National Weather Service said flooding in Scotia occurred near the jam.